England's savior Agyemang embracing Russo role, but what's next for her?

ZURICH -- There were raised eyebrows erstwhile Michelle Agyemang's sanction was listed among Sarina Wiegman's 23-player England squad heading to Switzerland for Euro 2025. Fans assumed the 19-year-old Arsenal striker would not play and questioned whether much acquisition would beryllium needed successful defence of their trophy. Yet she has go England's redeeming grace; an "agent of chaos" who has salvaged the Lionesses run with cardinal precocious goals doubly successful the knockout rounds.

She was connected the transportation for 11 minutes erstwhile she struck the equalizer successful the quarterfinal against Sweden to marque it 2-2, earlier England progressed aft a bizarre punishment shootout. And, aft coming connected successful the 85th infinitesimal against Italy successful the semifinal, she struck location a calm decorativeness adjacent the extremity of stoppage clip to instrumentality the crippled to other time, earlier Chloe Kelly bagged the winning punishment successful the 118th minute.

Fittingly, Agyemang's sanction virtually translates to "savior of a nation." And, portion she is improbable to commencement successful the upcoming last against Spain unless Wiegman opts to play a 3-5-2 formation, each eyes volition beryllium connected the youngster if she comes disconnected the seat again.

Agyemang has go the epitome of the word "super-sub," but with truthful overmuch attraction connected the youngster, there's a batch she tin larn from those who person walked the way earlier her that volition assistance usher her successful the future.

Teaching from her teammates

The standard of playing astatine her archetypal elder tourney is acold bigger than thing that has travel earlier successful her vocation and, by Agyemang's ain admission, it has been overwhelming. You wouldn't cognize that though; not with however she has performed arsenic she handles the unit of coming connected and being told to alteration a game.

Primarily, Agyemang has looked to Chelsea guardant Lauren James arsenic the inspiration for her chill and calm benignant connected the ball. "She [James] is 1 of the astir technically talented players I person ever seen," Agyemang says. "She is truthful calm and collected connected the ball. You tin spot that whether she is successful beforehand of extremity oregon nether pressure, she knows what she is doing. That's thing I privation to instrumentality into my crippled and beryllium accordant at."

Taking connected accusation from Arsenal teammate Alessia Russo has been the biggest boost, though, arsenic they play successful the aforesaid presumption up front. While it was Ellen White who ran astatine defenses for 85 minutes astatine Euro 2022, tiring them retired and mounting up Russo to travel connected and alteration things disconnected the bench, Russo has present stepped into the White relation successful Switzerland, with Agyemang capable to marque an interaction successful a abbreviated abstraction of time.

"She [Russo] is truthful accordant successful the mode she plays, the mode she trains, and you spot it connected the transportation arsenic well," Agyemang says. "She makes a large interaction successful the crippled and that's evidently thing that I strive to bash whenever I get onto the pitch."

Agyemang has grasped her accidental with some hands and Wiegman has preferred her to Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones, who galore thought would prima successful the aforesaid role. But it's her earthy aggression which has tipped the scales. "In duels I deliberation she needs to calm down a small spot arsenic she makes immoderate fouls," Wiegman said backmost successful May. "You don't privation to astir destruct your opponent."

Yet, successful training, teammate Lucy Bronze is encouraging the 19-year-old to spell arsenic hard arsenic she can. The seasoned close backmost knows that the past happening absorption defenses privation to see, having been bushed retired by Russo's athleticism and accomplishment for astir of the game, is the tenacious, assertive and objective youngster stepping connected to the pitch.

"You spot it erstwhile she comes on, defenders are petrified of her," Bronze says. "She comes on, a defender has played 90 minutes and past they person to travel up against Michelle; I definite arsenic hellhole wouldn't privation that to beryllium me."

Arsenal ascension

Agyemang has been astatine Arsenal since the property of six and made her Women's Super League (WSL) successful November 2022 astatine 16. But her way to the archetypal squad has not been straightforward and she has, to date, played lone 4 times for the elder side. Having signed her archetypal nonrecreational declaration erstwhile she turned 18, a indebtedness spell astatine Brighton & Hove Albion past play was not arsenic productive arsenic hoped and she scored conscionable 3 goals successful 17 WSL games.

But now, with the Champions League winners already having an established acceptable of world-class forwards successful Russo, Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead and the archetypal £1 cardinal signing successful the women's game, Olivia Smith, Agyemang volition person little entree to crippled clip to hone her trade and volition apt person to combat for her spot oregon spell retired connected indebtedness again adjacent season.

While she volition not beryllium expected to person an contiguous interaction astatine nine level, her summertime of occurrence with England volition rise the anticipation level and she volition person to larn however to bide her clip and enactment focused. Already the squad astir her, made up of her agent, Arsenal and FA unit and PR manager, person been helping her set to the new-found popularity and added media obligations that travel arsenic a result.

Many England players person spoken highly of their enactment web and it is thing that volition beryllium relied upon arsenic her vocation accelerates due to the fact that the spotlight tin travel arsenic a cost. But truthful far, she is not excessively acrophobic astir outward pressure.

"I deliberation astir of the unit comes from myself," she says. "I don't effort to perceive to the noise. I admit the enactment from everyone. I deliberation focusing connected what I tin bash is astir important, and past the sound volition travel astir nary substance what happens. But I deliberation for me, conscionable focusing connected however I tin amended my crippled and however I tin assistance the squad is my astir important thing."

Salma's story

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England players respond to Agyemang extremity & reaching Euro 2025 final

Michelle Agyemang, Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly respond to England's triumph against Italy to scope Euro 2025 final.

While starring astatine a large tourney is thrilling for a teenager, it tin travel with a antagonistic light. Her counterpart successful the Spain broadside she volition look successful the last connected Sunday, 21-year-old guardant Salma Paralluelo, is 2 years up of wherever Agyemang is currently, but is thing of a cautionary tale.

Salma burst connected to the country with Villarreal and aft 3 seasons with the Spanish side, European juggernauts Barcelona came knocking to motion her erstwhile she was 18. Two months into her debut season, she made her planetary debut; wrong 8 months, she was starting astatine the 2023 World Cup, mounting the signifier alight and shining brighter than adjacent seasoned players. Then-Spain manager Jorge Vilda adjacent said: "I don't person to explicate her quality, but she is conscionable 19 and no-one knows what her ceiling is."

She was named Young Player of the Tournament owed to her blistering gait and adaptability to play anyplace crossed the guardant line, which led to 2 consecutive third-place finishes successful the Ballon d'Or voting aft different productive play astatine Barcelona.

But past successful October 2024, aft making 92 appearances for nine and state successful nether 2 years, Paralluelo announced she was taking an indefinite interruption from the game, citing intelligence and carnal exhaustion. It has been a conflict ever since to instrumentality to her aged signifier and though she was tipped to radiance successful Spain's onslaught astatine Euro 2025, she has often recovered herself connected the seat and has yet to people successful Switzerland.

It's excessively aboriginal to accidental whether Agyemang volition assertion this year's Young Player grant astatine the Euros, but it is wide that she is astir to person the satellite astatine her feet, conscionable similar Salma did 2 years ago. It's a akin communicative of a meteoric emergence and the pressures that travel manus successful manus with that.

Learning to header with the attraction that comes with being identified arsenic the "next large thing" is tough; the intelligence broadside of the crippled is 1 of the large talking points astatine the tourney and England teammate Georgia Stanway precocious spoke candidly astir the maturation of women's shot having unfortunate consequences with a emergence successful societal media abuse, online harassment and antagonistic attention.

Nobody doubts her accomplishment connected the transportation and Agyemang has already shown acquisition beyond her years, but Spain are a antithetic prospect. Three years ago, Salma was handed a starting spot successful the last and tormented England arsenic Spain won 1-0 and claimed their archetypal large women's title; present Agyemang volition person a accidental to constitute her ain sanction into history.